Ron Paul

Ron Paul would rather be silenced that censored.

The libertarian Republican presidential candidate says he’s declined an opportunity to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa because Mitt Romney’s campaign imposed two conditions on any Paul speech — that it be reviewed by the nominee-to-be’s team and that it include an endorsement without hesitation or reservation.

Pundits noted that the uncompromising attitude that has won Paul a national following also limits his clout within the GOP.

“Uncompromising and perfectly willing to operate on the margins of mainstream politics for decades, Ron Paul proved unable to take his liberty message to a broader audience,” Charlie Mahtesian wrote today in Politico. “Even this year, at the height of his national influence and popularity, the Texas congressman failed to win the popular vote in a single state and never seriously threatened to win the GOP nomination.”

But inside the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome, where Paul is holding a celebration of his candidacy today, supporters say Paul’s unyielding principles are why they love him. Jordan Page, a singer who has penned several ballads about the Texas congressman, called Paul “the one sane voice in a sea of madness.”

Former California congressman Barry Goldwater Jr. conceded that the movement embodied by his father in 1964 and by Ron Paul this year “has had a bumpy road.”

“But it is still alive, it is still well, it is still important,” he said.

Paul’s son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, had been scheduled to address the convention tomorrow, but Monday’s convention session was postponed because of the threat posed by Hurricane Isaac. Rand Paul’s speech has not yet been rescheduled.